“an imaginative and unique curriculum”

Ofsted Report

 Head, Heart, and Hands

The key intent for our school curriculum is to create a positive and purposeful drive for learning in our students that will enable them to contribute to society throughout their lifetime.

In order to fulfil our intent, the TLAS curriculum engages the head, heart and hands in its thematic approach. The head is the rigorous academic learning; the heart, the social and emotional intelligence; and the hands, the physical and artistic education. Our intention is to enable our children to grow into healthy, well-rounded young people, succeeding across these three balanced disciplines.

The intent of The London Acorn School curriculum is to:

  • cultivate and preserve the child’s innate sense of wonder and love of learning
  • develop the capacity for independent, imaginative thinking and creative doing
  • offer a low-tech environment to promote the development of the finer senses and motor skills, connections in real time to people and places
  • take full advantage of the nourishing and restorative power of nature, accessible to us in Morden Hall Park, to foster a sense of place and connection to the Earth as well as to acquire skills in Natural Science and Geography
  • to provide an intimate, unhurried environment, where children can learn at a pace in keeping with their developmental needs
  • provide a secure and ordered environment with clear boundaries and consistent daily rhythms which encourage full participation and engagement with teachers, peers and learning
  • hold high academic expectations for the key skills of numeracy, literacy and the sciences in addition to cultural, musical, artistic skills (including design and technology)
  • support the child’s physical, emotional and social development, equipping children for life
  • enable pupils to develop moral sensibility with an understanding of individual liberty, mutual respect and a tolerance of those with different beliefs
  • provide an arena where the child’s individuality is accepted and respected, enabling them to become fully integrated members of the community and broader society with a clear and strong sense of their strengths and areas for development

How is TLAS unique?

Based in Morden Cottage, within the grounds of Morden Hall Park, TLAS offers a nurturing environment, which fosters a family atmosphere. Class sizes are small and relationships between teachers, children and families are very strong. In a small school, the emphasis is on providing boundaries, developing positive habits and working closely with children to support choices, which helps to create a harmonious atmosphere.

As our children enter into formal learning at age 6 (in tandem with many education systems globally), our curriculum allows children the time, space and opportunity to enter a state of ‘flow’. The connectivity of our curriculum themes and longer lesson times allow children to be completely absorbed by a learning experience. TLAS ensures learning is ‘experiential’, providing opportunities for children to use their full sensory intelligence, opportunities to create, be in nature and have real agency in their learning.

Finally, TLAS has a low-tech approach. In a world which surrounds our children with tech, our curriculum prizes the creative and the outdoors. Rather than ‘swiping right on an ipad’, our children are to be found lighting campfires, creating wooden toys in our workshop, and enjoying sport or yoga. Children need time and space to ‘grow’ their abilities and to discover their passions; TLAS allows children this time.

Chatsworth Tapestry

At Chatsworth Schools, we champion individuality by understanding and embracing each student’s learning style. Our curriculum adapts to their unique needs, creating a bespoke learning framework tailored to our school’s identity, culture, and our students’ aspirations. This unique framework is known as ‘The Chatsworth Tapestry.

Look out for The Chatsworth Tapestry symbol throughout the TLAS Curriculum Overviews.

Curriculum Overviews

Subjects

Assessment at The London Acorn School

At The London Acorn School we believe in developing creative thinkers and curious learners. Assessment is very much part of the cycle of learning at our school and not the ‘end’ of a journey.
In the Kindergarten, the teachers are guided by the EYFS criteria for assessment and this information is shared with our parents at parents evenings and in the reporting cycle.
In our Junior School, PUMA and PIRA Maths and Literacy termly assessments are used to track academic progress. All of our teachers are skilled at working with children individually to plan their next steps in learning. Emphasis is given to providing written and verbal feedback regularly to the children and this is a part of the daily classroom experience. Small class sizes and a nurturing atmosphere ensure that assessment in this context really helps children to progress academically.
The curriculum breadth ensures that children experience time and space within a school day to discover a talent, explore, and learn through nurture not pressure.